When Chi Yao returned home, Jing Xi was bustling in the kitchen. The big cat and kittens were squatting on the island, jumping at any noise from the kitchen.

They watched warily yet curiously.

A smell that was neither fragrant nor foul permeated the air.

Chi Yao silently took a step back toward the door, but it was too late.

Jing Xi, wearing his face, looked over from the kitchen: “Back so early?”

Chi Yao: “…”

“Mm.”

He walked in resignedly, casually picked up a kitten, and started petting it.

Yao Yao stared at the kitten in his arms. It looked familiar no matter how she looked. She turned her head to count—good grief, one was missing.

“Awoo!”

She roared and pounced over.

Chi Yao caught her effortlessly, hugging both the big cat and the kitten.

“Does this guy know I’m not you?”

Jing Xi looked over from the tutorial video: “Why do you say that?”

Chi Yao: “Even when I’m wearing your skin, she never gives me a good look.”

Jing Xi shook his head helplessly: “They say cats are psychic; maybe she can really see something.”

Chi Yao walked to the stove. The counter in front of him was a mess.

“What are you making?”

Jing Xi pointed to the recipe on the screen: “This mushroom chicken soup. It says even beginners can easily learn it. I thought I’d time it so you could drink some as soon as you got home.”

Chi Yao looked at the recipe, then opened the stew pot to take a peek.

Jing Xi was a little nervous and excited: “How is it? I followed the recipe strictly.”

Chi Yao smiled: “Simple ingredients, indeed something a beginner can make.”

Does this mean he thinks I did well?

Jing Xi curled his lips, but before he could smile, he heard Chi Yao continue: “But since you are ‘kitchen killer’ level, better forget it.”

Jing Xi: “…”

Chi Yao handed him the cat in his arms and the military jacket he had taken off, then rolled up his sleeves: “Major General, better stick to protecting the country. Leave cooking to me.”

Jing Xi was unwilling and struggled: “If I learn more, I can definitely master it.”

Chi Yao chuckled: “I’m afraid before you learn, my stomach will have run away from home.”

Jing Xi: “…”

Jing Xi hugged the cat and nestled beside him: “Then from now on, you cook, and I’ll wash the dishes.”

Chi Yao smiled.

Such a well-behaved wife, of course, deserved a kiss as a reward.

But as soon as he turned his head, he saw his own face. Under Jing Xi’s confused gaze, he turned back with a wooden expression, pretending nothing happened.

Jing Xi: “What did Bai Yi say?”

Speaking of Bai Yi, Chi Yao’s hand cutting vegetables paused slightly.

“He said everything was an accident.”

Jing Xi: “Accident?”

Chi Yao: “Initially, he formed a medical expert team to research prosthetics, fusing human and beast genes to exhibit the characteristics of both species simultaneously.”

Even prosthetics cultivated from one’s own cells produced by the Central Biological Research Institute, while not affecting daily activities, still differed from original limbs in activities requiring high-precision control.

Jing Xi leaned casually against the counter.

“The idea was good. The Empire has no large-scale civil wars or foreign wars, only wars with beasts. A large portion of injured soldiers lost limbs to beast bites. Even with prosthetics, they couldn’t return to their original posts.”

“According to Bai Yi himself, this kind of prosthetic has stronger recovery and compatibility, exceeding ordinary human levels in strength, flexibility, and durability by many grades. A pity, blinded by power, he quickly lost himself.”

Chi Yao put the ingredients into the stew pot, wiped his hands, and leaned back with Jing Xi. “They soon weren’t satisfied with testing on tissue blocks and shifted their target to live beasts, resulting in those unkillable monsters.”

Jing Xi: “To deal with the monsters, they researched modified humans?”

“He tried to make us think that.”

Chi Yao scoffed, “If he had reported truthfully to the military back then, things wouldn’t have reached this stage. It was greed. He gave himself a grand-sounding reason to squander others’ lives recklessly.”

Jing Xi: “One wrong step leads to many wrong steps.”

Chi Yao: “He had countless chances to turn back; he chose this path himself.”

Jing Xi: “Did he mention Major General Bo?”

Chi Yao teased the kitten peeking over and said casually: “He and Chen Bingfeng were both arranged by Bai Yi to enter the military. His mission was to suppress the Jing family and eliminate your father when necessary.”

Seeing Jing Xi nod slowly without any change in expression, Chi Yao asked: “Don’t you find it scary?”

“Obviously, Major General Bo didn’t do that; otherwise, there would be no me.”

Jing Xi whispered, “The great nobles of Capital Star are all relics of history, having status but no real power. The overt and covert struggles between them have never ceased. I don’t know how many people have been hurt by this system; it might be better abolished.”

Chi Yao nodded in agreement: “Indeed. No benefits, just a pile of messy problems. Better not to have it.”

To protect Jing Xi, Jing Shen didn’t hesitate to ask Qiu Tianlin to label his son with a mental illness.

Looking back now, it must be said this decision was very wise.

Bai Yi had long gone mad. If he eliminated Jing Shen and then a more perfect Jing Xi appeared, who knew when he would strike?

Not to mention Bai Yi, other great nobles might also kick the Jing family when they were down.

The timer on the stove beeped, and Chi Yao turned to lower the heat.

“By the way, does Brother Rong know your father is back?”

Jing Xi: “Already notified grandparents. However, Doctor Qiu is treating my father, so he has to stay in the medical pod for a while longer.”

Chi Yao chuckled: “Seeing their son and son-in-law, they should be very happy.”

It was clearly just an ordinary smile, but it stung Jing Xi.

He leaned closer, resting against Chi Yao’s back: “We will reunite one day.”

Chi Yao: “Mm.”

---

After lunch, Chi Yao returned to his own body.

After consciously controlling it a few times, he became increasingly proficient with the swapping skill.

“I plan to use the medicine,” Chi Yao said.

Jing Xi’s eyes flashed.

“Today?”

Chi Yao: “After you go to work.”

Jing Xi frowned: “No. You’ll be home alone. What if something happens?”

Chi Yao rubbed his chin: “Probably won’t.”

But Jing Xi refused to yield.

Because of the Bai Yi case, there were piles of matters to handle in all aspects. Finally waiting until afternoon work hours, Pei Zhenyue was wondering whether to video call Jing Xi to probe who he was currently, when he received a leave request first.

【Family member unwell, taking leave in the afternoon.】

Pei Zhenyue stared at the words “family member” for a few seconds, his head aching with anger.

Looks like they switched back, but not coming to work is still useless!

【You can bring your family member to work with you.】

After typing the text, his finger hovered over the send button for a long time, then silently deleted it.

That family member is too fierce; forget it.

“Sir, stop slacking.”

The adjutant placed a stack of documents on the desk. “These are documents to be approved before getting off work this afternoon.”

Pei Zhenyue: “…”

To catch up on work, a small desk was added next to his for the adjutant.

Pei Zhenyue picked up the file and opened it. The first one was about the Xuanwu Legion.

When the Xuanwu Legion disappeared back then, their household registrations were automatically canceled after the time limit. Now that they were back, both household and military registrations became issues.

Thinking of this, he asked the adjutant: “How is the collection of materials related to Bo Jin going?”

The adjutant organized the two large stacks of documents on his desk and said casually: “Almost done. Will transfer to the judicial department tomorrow or the day after.”

Thinking the superior cherished talent, the adjutant added: “Although his motive for entering the military wasn’t pure, we haven’t collected evidence unfavorable to him so far. Everyone in the Xuanwu Legion signed a joint petition hoping for his sentence reduction. General Lin also provided a lot of materials; maybe a not-guilty defense is possible.”

No matter how evil a person’s thoughts, as long as they weren’t put into action, they couldn’t be judged guilty. Motive was the same.

Regardless of Bo Jin’s purpose for entering the military, as long as he didn’t commit illegal acts, he couldn’t be considered guilty.

Pei Zhenyue: “Let me see the materials first when the time comes. We have to handle his case carefully.”

The adjutant agreed, sighing with emotion: “He was also a prominent figure in the military back then. No matter what, it’s good that he could come back.”

Pei Zhenyue huffed: “If he went to jail, that kid Chi Yao would come overnight to tear down my office building.”

The adjutant was puzzled: “Chi Yao and Major General Bo have such a good relationship?”

There was a big age gap between the two; at most, they only interacted during this war.

Pei Zhenyue said faintly: “Bo Jin is his old man; what do you think?”

Crash.

Documents scattered all over the floor.

The adjutant’s eyes were glazed: “Y-You said Chi Yao is Bo, Major General Bo’s child?”

---

Military District, Jing Xi’s small house.

Jing Xi was locked outside the door, pacing anxiously back and forth.

Five kittens followed him confusedly, lining up to circle around.

Inside the guest room, Chi Yao opened the repair agent syringe and injected it into his arm.

In less than a minute, familiar severe pain spread through his body to his fingertips.

“Fuck, what exactly was improved?”

Chi Yao cursed in a low voice, gritting his teeth to endure.

His mood grew increasingly irritable with the severe pain. He could feel his pheromones leaking out but couldn’t care less.

He was alone in the room, and the purification system was on; the pheromones wouldn’t cause any impact.

He knew this emotion was just a drug effect and forced himself to adjust his breathing to stabilize his emotions.

Rip.

The sound of tearing fabric came from behind. Catching a glimpse of something white in his peripheral vision, Chi Yao turned his head to look—it was actually a wolf tail longer than him.

Chi Yao: “…………”

After ears, now a tail?

Must absolutely not let Jing Xi see.

Jing Xi waited outside for half an hour. Chi Yao still hadn’t come out, and he grew more anxious the longer he waited.

Suddenly, the sound of a heavy object hitting the floor came from the room. The kittens were startled and meowed, running to find their mother.

Jing Xi walked to the door in a few steps, knocking urgently.

“Yao Yao? Yao Yao, how are you?!”

But he never heard Chi Yao’s response.

Jing Xi steeled his heart, unwilling to wait any longer.

Drug testing inherently carried significant safety risks. If not discovered in time, he couldn’t bear the consequences.

“Xiao Hong, open the door!”

【Lock open.】

Jing Xi pushed open the door. The room was messy, but Chi Yao was gone.

“Yao Yao?!”

Jing Xi rushed to the window, but it was sealed, with no signs of damage.

【Sound of water in the bathroom.】

Hearing Xiao Hong’s prompt, Jing Xi snapped back to reality.

The bathroom door was closed, light shining from inside.

Jing Xi stood at the door, flexing his fingers several times, trying to calm his trembling fingertips.

“Yao Yao?”

“I’m fine.”

Chi Yao’s voice came from inside, sounding normal.

Jing Xi breathed a sigh of relief.

“How do you feel? Need to contact Doctor Qiu?”

“No need.”

Jing Xi still wasn’t reassured, hand on the doorknob.

“Can I come in?”

“No!”

Jing Xi: “…”

Being secretive; there’s a problem.

Given Chi Yao’s personality, normally, he might stand before him dripping wet, asking if his figure was good.

But if he barged in, this kid would definitely get angry.

What to do?

Suddenly, a sharp pain in his chest made Jing Xi sway, holding onto the door.

His hand grasped empty air, and he almost hit the wall.

Feeling the cold water pouring over his head, Jing Xi was dazed for a moment, then quickly understood.

He had swapped with Chi Yao again.

He turned off the water, caught a glimpse of something white moving, turned to look, and his eyes widened.

This is—!

Chi Yao thought he had dodged it, but he unexpectedly appeared outside the bathroom in the blink of an eye.

“…”

Why? I didn’t want to swap!

Hearing the door opening, Chi Yao’s expression stiffened, scalp tingling.

Seeing Chi Yao squatting in the corner without a word, Jing Xi squatted down too.

“Besides the tail, any other discomfort?”

Chi Yao: “No more.”

Jing Xi: “Mm.”

Feeling the person beside him stand up, Chi Yao turned to look. He saw him draped in a bathrobe, a big tail sticking out from under the hem.

“W-What are you doing?”

Jing Xi wagged the tail: “Tail has lots of fur; need to dry it.”

Chi Yao: “…”

Chi Yao tried to switch them back, but even after Jing Xi dried the tail fur, the attempt was unsuccessful.

Jing Xi patted his shoulder and comforted: “It’s okay. Don’t put too much pressure on yourself. I don’t mind.”

After speaking, he sat on the sofa, hugging the tail, lost in the joy of petting it.

Chi Yao: “…”

You can’t say you don’t mind; you’re practically overjoyed, aren’t you?

Chi Yao angrily video-called the quack doctor.

As soon as it connected, he started roasting.

“Didn’t you say this repair agent was improved? Why is the reaction stronger than the first time? Are you incompetent?!”

Qiu Tianlin stared at the big white tail, eyes bright.

“During medication, the body’s state in all aspects will constantly adjust. Emotional instability or partial bestialization is normal.”

Chi Yao: “But fuck, it’s not just bestialization now; we can’t even swap our souls back!”

Qiu Tianlin then noticed his phrasing was strange.

He looked thoughtful and probed: “You are Chi Yao?”

Chi Yao scoffed: “Just figured it out?!”

Qiu Tianlin adjusted his glasses frame, looking focused: “This is a very good research topic. Can you—”

Before he finished, Chi Yao cut the connection.

Jing Xi: “What did he say?”

Chi Yao: “…”

So you weren’t listening just now?

---

The swapping became uncontrollable, just like when they first started swapping, only more frequent.

Perhaps realizing his attitude was problematic, Qiu Tianlin quickly sent a message to remedy the situation, stating this instability was only temporary and would recover in a few days to a month.

But life had to go on, especially with military affairs so busy. Jing Xi couldn’t keep taking leave at home.

Finally, with no other choice, they decided that whoever woke up in Jing Xi’s body would go to work.

Thus, rumors secretly began to circulate in the military again—Jing Xi’s illness had relapsed.

Often normal one minute, laughing coquettishly the next, with speech and behavior like two different people. The split personality seemed increasingly severe.

This morning, the military high command held a routine meeting. Someone mentioned rewarding the Star Pirate Groups.

“Internet popularity has been high since the start of the war. The public is watching what reward policy the military will offer. I think we shouldn’t delay too long.”

After this issue was raised, other officers expressed their views.

“Objectively speaking, the Star Pirate Groups haven’t received professional training, but their performance in this war was indeed commendable.”

“Their sincerity could be felt. In the planets I’m responsible for, one-third of the refugees were evacuated with the help of Star Pirate Groups.”

“But rewarding blindly won’t do. After all, many of them have criminal records.”

“Should we set a standard for rewards and punishments?”

Pei Zhenyue looked at Lin Chengde and Zhao Hongyi sitting on his left and right: “What are your views?”

Lin Chengde smiled: “Before Chi Yao took over Extreme Shadow, Anbu was managing it. I have more say regarding Star Pirate Groups. Giving the star pirate circle appropriate living space is necessary from a national security perspective.”

As soon as this was said, faint gasps sounded in the conference hall.

Extreme Shadow was managed by General Lin before?!

So Chi Yao snatched Extreme Shadow from his hands?!

Thinking was one thing, but they dared not ask.

Zhao Hongyi looked at Lin Chengde: “Why were you managing Star Pirate Groups?”

Lin Chengde: “Star Pirate Groups are easier to hide than Anbu, convenient for doing things.”

Zhao Hongyi: “Then how come you couldn’t even keep a Star Pirate Group?”

Lin Chengde glanced at him: “He is the manager I picked.”

Zhao Hongyi frowned: “You picked such a thorn to manage Star Pirate Groups, only for him to turn around and deal with the military?”

Lin Chengde smiled: “With him there, it keeps our excellent soldiers alert at all times, preventing slackness.”

Zhao Hongyi looked incredulous: “So those things he did were all instructed by you?”

“Yes.”

Lin Chengde nodded indifferently. “Just right to beat some sense into the disobedient ones too.”

Whoa!

No wonder Chi Yao acts without scruples and fears no one; he has a big shot backing him!

In a few words, Lin Chengde took responsibility for all of Chi Yao’s actions, and crucially, no one could find fault.

What was wrong with a superior sending someone to beat and test subordinates?

Even if wrong, it didn’t amount to a crime.

Pei Zhenyue listened to the whole thing with a serious face, suppressing the urge to roll his eyes.

This old boy will say anything to protect his apprentice. Shameless.

Huang Hao carefully nudged Jing Xi sitting next to him.

“Boss, isn’t Chi Yao really pranking us on purpose?”

Chi Yao laughed hearing this and said lazily: “Mm, hitting is affection, scolding is love. You should appreciate his painstaking efforts.”

Huang Hao: “…”

That hitting was too fucking hard though.

Zhao Hongyi: “I don’t oppose rewarding the Star Pirate Groups, but the scope of rewards must be strictly limited.”

Catching a glimpse of Jing Xi’s roguish smile, Pei Zhenyue knew what was up and lifted his chin toward him.

“Jing Xi, what’s your view?”

Chi Yao: “What they want most is household registration.”

Pei Zhenyue raised his eyebrows and nodded slowly: “True. Without household registration, they can’t even get married. Finding a partner means marrying into the partner’s family (matrilocally). Quite pathetic.”

Chi Yao: “…”

Chi Yao smiled: “I think so too. Why not rank by contribution? Give my Chi Yao a household registration first, so I can prepare to marry into his family.”

Pei Zhenyue’s brow twitched: “…”

Everyone looked at him simultaneously, with expressions like they’d seen a ghost.

“!!!”

What does that mean?

Jing Xi wants to marry into whose family?!